Pectineus Exercises

The pectineus muscle, located along your upper, inner thigh, has multiple functions. Whether you favor a brisk pre-dawn walk, an intense ballet class or a serious weekend soccer game, this relatively small muscle plays a key role in keeping you active. Like all muscles of your groin, the pectineus needs attention. A few simple exercises help keep the muscle strong and flexible, so you can give it your all and stay injury-free.

  1. Pectineus Function

    • The pectineus muscle runs from your pelvis to the upper-inner area of your thigh bone. As petite as it is, the pectineus packs a big punch. When you walk, run, sprint, pivet and kick, your pectineus joins other inner thigh muscles -- including the adductor longus and adductor brevis -- in pulling your leg toward your body's midline and keeping your pelvis balanced. The pectineus also functions as a hip flexor, meaning it draws your thigh toward your chest. Although it's often associated with internal hip rotation, a tiny study appearing in the April 2000 edition of the "American Journal of Sports Medicine" showed the pectineus is moderately active during exercises requiring both internal and external rotation, demonstrating its role as a hip stabilizer.

    Injury Risk

    • Keeping your groin muscles -- including the pectineus -- strong and supple can improve your athletic performance and might reduce your risk of groin strain. Groin strain occurs when any of the groin muscles -- including the pectineus -- tears or ruptures. Symptoms of groin strain range from minor discomfort, tightness and tenderness to extreme pain, muscle weakness, bruising and swelling in the groin area. Activities that demand a lot from the groin muscles, including sports that involve quick changes in direction and sudden bursts of speed, put you at greater risk for debilitating groin injury.

    Strength Exercises

    • You can work the pectineus muscle in a variety of ways, using little or no equipment. Lying on your back with your knees bent toward the ceiling, squeeze a ball, rolled-up towel or cushion between your thighs. Alternatively, stand and tie one end of a resistance band to your ankle and anchor the other end to the leg of your couch. Pull the band away from the anchored end, drawing it toward and across your body. Or lie on your side and bend your top leg, placing the sole of the foot on the floor in front of you. Repeatedly raise and lower the bottom leg. For this one, strap on an ankle weight for greater resistance. According to the study in the "American Journal of Sports Medicine," even a simple supine hip flexion exercise -- in which you draw your bent knee toward your chest -- and single- and double-leg bridges are effective at activating the pectineus.

    Flexibility Exercises

    • Keeping the pectineus long and pliable requires frequent, consistent stretching. Before rigorous workouts, do a general warmup involving five minutes of light cardio activity. From there, progress to a dynamic groin stretch -- such as lateral lunges -- involving smooth, continuous, repetitive motion. Aim to increase your range of motion with every rep but maintain total control. After groin-intense workouts, when your pectineus and other inner thigh muscles are already warm and receptive, take a few minutes for static stretching. Move into the classic butterfly position, with the soles of your feet together and your knees open like wings. Hold the stretch for up to 30 seconds, pressing down lightly on your inner thighs with your elbows. Relax briefly and repeat the stretch up to four times.

    Considerations

    • If you've injured your groin area in the past, speak to your doctor, physical therapist or personal trainer about the advisability of particular exercises. Pushing yourself too hard, too fast increases your risk of re-injury. If you consistently feel pain when exercising your groin, visit your doctor for an evaluation.